Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, Netflix’s newest true crime docu-series, tells the tale of the Murdaughs, an affluent South Carolina family.
Murdaugh Murders delves into the numerous incidents that have been connected to the family of litigators, including a watercraft mishap in which someone perished and the events leading up to the deaths of mother Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh and her son Paul in the summer of 2021.
The show also chronicles the continuing prosecution of Alex Murdaugh, Maggie’s spouse, and Paul’s father, who was accused of their killings but maintains his innocence and has pled not guilty.
Maggie and Alex’s other boy Buster, a fourth member of the Murdaugh family, is also featured in the video.
Before the murders of his mother and brother, Richard Alex Murdaugh, called Buster, was working at his father’s law firm and attending law school at the University of South Carolina, as was a family custom. However, he was ultimately fired due to a plagiarism episode.
According to The Post and Courier, Buster’s family spent $60,000 to guarantee that he would be readmitted to the college to finish his legal degree.
He has yet to resume his education, however. Butch Bowers, Murdaugh’s counsel, said, “He has put his desire to go to law school on hold for the time being.” “There are no plans for him to begin school in the fall or spring.”
What happened to Buster Murdaugh?
Buster presently resides in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with his partner, barrister Brooklynn White. What he does for a livelihood is unknown.
In February of this year, he testified in his father’s prosecution as a first witness for the defense—that is, he testified on his father’s behalf—and stated that the murders of Maggie and Paul had left him “heartbroken.”
Buster has sat through his father’s entire hearing, and according to Law & Crime, he has been rattled and placed his head in his hands as the lawyers go over the gruesome details of the double homicide.
Buster’s father was judged guilty of both killings on March 2nd, and on March 3rd, the court condemned him to two straight life sentences in jail.
What happened to Buster during the murders?
Alex Murdaugh says that on June 7, 2021, he returned home to discover Maggie and Paul shot dead near their canine cages. He dialed 911 and also contacted Buster.
During the hearing, Buster stated, “He sounded odd, and then he told me that my mom and brother had been shot.”
According to his evidence, Buster was at his girlfriend’s home in Rock Hill, South Carolina, when the killings occurred. He went straight to the Murdaugh house after hearing what had occurred.
How did Buster respond to the verdict?
A court condemned Alex Murdaugh to two straight life sentences for the killings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh on Friday, March 3, 2023.
“Buster held up pretty well until the cameras were off him, but then he collapsed… He was crying uncontrollably. The uncles finally got him into a car,” a witness at the Colleton County Courthouse told the New York Post during the punishment.
Buster has been connected to two additional fatalities.
One of the events covered in Murdaugh Murders was the watercraft mishap that killed Mallory Beach. The Beach family alleged that Paul Murdaugh was inebriated then, but they have since consented to a deal that eliminates Buster’s and his mother’s names from the case.
The video also mentions the mysterious death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, a former companion, and student of Buster’s, whose corpse was discovered on the road near the Murdaugh family house.
While officials initially suspected Smith’s death was the result of a hit-and-run, his injuries were considered incongruous with a collision—and suspicion landed on Buster due to reports that he was engaged with Smith, who was publicly homosexual.
Buster rejects any role in the murder of Stephen Smith.
A fresh inquiry into Smith’s murder has been started in response to the renewed public interest in his case following the publication of the Murdaugh Murders program.
Buster made his first public comment since his father’s imprisonment to disclaim any participation when he learned that Smith’s corpse would be unearthed.
“As I grieve for the brutal murders of my mother and brother, I have done my best to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in Stephen Smith’s tragic death that continue to be published in the media,” he said. “I haven’t spoken up until now because I want to be alone while I deal with their deaths and my father’s imprisonment.”
“This has gone on for far too long,” he added. “These rumors about my involvement with Stephen and his death are false… I categorically deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family.”
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